Five Things Jake Never Understood
by ingrid-matthews
Summary: New Caprica, through a different set of eyes. [Spoilers up to 3.02]


Title: "Five Things Jake Never Understood"

Spoilers: Up to 3.03 (Exodus I)

Rating: PG

Characters: Jake the Dog

Disclaimer: He's not mine, but I'll take him, the cute fuzzy guy.

Summary: New Caprica, though a different set of eyes.

o0o0o

FIVE THINGS JAKE NEVER UNDERSTOOD

by ingrid

o0o0o

The smells here aren't like home, but Jake gets used to them quickly enough.

There are some things he remembers; the scent of mansweat, the odor of food, the damp tickle of coming rain he can feel all the way to his paws. Those things didn't change, but the dirt doesn't seem like any dirt he remembers and the rope he's tied with still reminds him of the giant metal box he ran in circles through for months, wondering what had happened to the sun.

He hasn't seen his human in some time. It seems like a long time, but Jake is good at waiting. In the meantime there are people who pet him, someone who feeds him, a water dish that is mostly filled, so it's all right, at least until his human returns.

Then his pack will be whole again, and he can run in the sunlight, free at last.

Until then it's another ordinary day, of being petted on occasion, fed even less often, listening to noises that sound like "Poor Jake. Our poor Jake. There, there, boy ... you're our dog now. We'll take care of you, no matter what."

He has no idea what it means, but it doesn't matter.

Nothing matters until his human comes back.

o0o0o

It's cold in this place.

Once he had a little house to hide in against the wind, but that was long ago when he lived somewhere else; a place not at all like this one.

It doesn't matter. He has his fur and his patience. Curling up until his nose is tucked beneath his tummy is no great feat -- it's too bad the humans haven't learned how to do it because they seem cold as well from the way they huddle and shiver in their meager coats. Sometimes one of the human pups comes to hug him, burying their faces in his fur and Jake wraps his tail around them to warm them, poor hairless creatures they are.

There aren't as many pups as there used to be, playing with him and petting him and Jake misses them, almost as much as his human.

Perhaps they will all return together. That would be nice.

His stomach grumbles and he whines for his food. Eventually someone responds, scraping fatty bits of something into his dish. It smells on the rancid side, but food is food and Jake eats it with gusto.

He likes food. He likes pups and his human. He likes being in the sunlight, as cold and gray as it is.

He doesn't bother wondering if life holds anything more.

o0o0o

At night sometimes there are terrible, loud noises, hurting Jake's sensitive ears. They are horribly sudden and Jake paces desperately every time he hears them, tugging on a leash that holds fast.

He wants to run, he wants to hide and he whines and whines, but no one comes. There are other noises, shouts of anger and shrill cries, which Jake responds to with howls of his own. His nose twitches with the smell of blood and his stomach growls, even as he shivers in fear.

He has no idea what's going on. All he knows is that no one is coming for him, that his human is still gone and that he can't stand to hear another of these awful _BOOMS_ , sometimes coming two, three times a night. He whines and barks, his tail tucked between his legs and his rope is pulled taut as he tries, but fails, to crawl underneath the nearest tent.

The rest of the night is quiet, but Jake can't stop barking. It's a cry of desperation, and no one answers. When the sun rises, he finally sleeps, hoping the noises don't return, but they do.

Night after night after night, until Jake learns to fear them, almost as much as he fears never eating again.

Almost as much as he fears being alone.

o0o0o

There are creatures here that look like humans but have no discernible scent.

Jake doesn't know what to make of them -- he's never met a _scentless_ animal ... not ever ... but these creatures often give him the choicest cuts of food, taking long moments to pet him, speaking so sweetly to him he can almost pretend they are his human, except that there is no replacing his human, especially not by some strange, odorless _thing_.

Oddly, he almost always smells blood on their hands, blood that isn't their own.

He never sees any red stains, but the blood is there, as much as they might scrub it away. They can't fool Jake's nose and he wonders if it's something they ate with their fingers, something nice and meaty and he hopes they might share it with him someday, if he's very, very good.

He curious and excited about this, until the day he smells familiar blood on the hands of one of the scentless ones.

It's the blood of his human. It's confusing at first, but something in the back of his brain triggers, hard. _The head of the pack has been wounded ... the head of the pack is in danger ... he has to protect the pack ... he has to defend ... _

His fangs are around the throat of the creature before Jake himself realizes it.

It takes many hands to tear him off and he can't stop growling at the gasping, twitching i thing /i lying on the ground, its hands clutched around a neck that gushes hot red blood. He snarls and barks and tries to lunge again, but the rope is tugged sharply back, nearly flipping him over.

"It's not really his fault," one of them says to the hurt one, whose eyes bulge as he gasps. "When you come back, give him some dinner. He'll like you then."

"God ..." says the wounded one, before his eyes roll back and Jake thinks he's dead, as he can no longer sense life within.

"It's not your fault, Jake," a tall woman-creature says to him, gently brushing the blood-speckled fur from his eyes. "Poor Jake. You didn't know any better."

Jake thinks about biting her as well, but lies down instead, resting his head on his paws. He'll lick the blood off later, but for now, he needs to be alert, putting everything out of his mind, except for one, all-encompassing thought.

His pack is in danger.

o0o0o

There are two humans who have taken to playing a strange game with him or, at least, with his water dish.

One turns bowl over, the other turns it back and there is much scuttling back and forth between Jake and some drawers. They look frightened, but they always take a few seconds to pet him as well, so it's all good, especially as there is enough rain water to fill his dish back up at any given time.

They never seem to meet up with each other and Jake thinks that he's never met two stranger humans. He tries to play the game with them, shoving at the bowl with his nose when they arrive, but they don't seem interested. Eventually, he learns to ignore them, except when they bring the occasional treat.

Sometimes one comes by with a tiny pup in his arms, leaning down and letting Jake lick its little face. "Don't tell the wife now, Jake," he says. "She thinks dogs aren't clean."

Jake wags his tail and licks the pup again. It's a very new addition to the pack, and Jake is happy to be allowed to greet it.

"Now let's see if you have something for me today, boy," the human says, slinking away to the drawers. He pulls out a roll of paper, which he starts to stuff into his shirt, hindered by the pup in his arms.

Behind him, a scentless one is walking, unnoticed and Jake barks in warning. The paper disappears and the human immediately strides back to Jake, holding the pup out for more nuzzling. "What a good boy," the human exclaims loudly. He nods and smiles at the scentless one. "Nothing like the love of a dog, huh?"

"Nothing like it," the creature replies genially. "Have a nice day."

The human mutters a reply beneath his breath. "Yeah, have a nice day, you toaster-headed ..." The man pauses. He pulls the pup away and pats Jake's head. "Good boy. You're one of us, pal. Don't think we'll forget it. You're coming home with us, when the time comes. And it can't be soon enough."

Jake has no idea what he's saying, but in all, it sounds good enough.

At least until his human returns.

o0o0o

end

Comments are very welcome!


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